Monday, March 23, 2015

I was always amused by the name we chose for ourselves, three plus years ago. Swagger Writers. We were mostly a group of writers with lots left to learn. There was talent galore, but room for improvement. We wanted to become even better. Hardly the quintessential essence of boastful or arrogant. We liked the confident, talented connotation. We were writers with plenty to say, and heart and soul and grit galore.Swagger took many of us to the next level. It made us better writers and more tech savvy. It was a huge part of my life for more than three years. I will miss it, but I am also able to see it for what it was; a chance for a group of writers to bond, grow, and stay connected.And even though we won't be writing under the Swagger masthead any longer, Swagger will always be an important part of me.For now, you can find me on my website . Twitter . Goodreads . LinkedInSwagger Salute,Kim Van Sickler***

Kathy Cannon Wiechman

Today I write this post from a place called the Barn at Boyds Mills. Built in 2010, this building is where the Highlights Foundation holds its workshops, and it is the place where Swagger was born.From the Barn, I can look down the hill to the old white farmhouse, where the workshops used to be held. I attended my first Rich Wallace workshop in that house in 2003. (I had previously met Rich at Chautauqua in 1999.) In 2006, I met Jon Egan in that farmhouse, and in 2009, I met the rest of the original Swagger writers there. Both the Barn and the house hold special memories for me, and it seemed appropriate to write my final Swagger post in this place.I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing a part of myself with the readers of this blog, and plan to keep visiting the blogs I've met along the way. Swagger has had a run of three and a half years, and I will miss it. No longer being part of it will not keep it from always being part of me.Please stay in touch with me via my website . Twitter . Goodreads .Swagger Salute,Kathy Cannon Wiechman***

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

I
have always been a busy person. In my younger days, I worked numerous jobs,
raised four kids, served as president of the PTO, did volunteer work, planned
family reunions, and (more or less) “kept house.” But I always made time to
write. I wrote poems, short stories, and novels. My dream was to be a published
novelist.

Now,
by virtue of my age, I am a Senior Citizen. And my dream has finally come true.
As my peers retire or think about retirement, I am a published novelist, a
working writer. While they take up hobbies or relax on their decks or patios, I
am busier than ever.

My
debut novel (LIKE A RIVER) will launch next month, and I work tirelessly to
promote it. I arrange school visits, book signings, and speaking engagements. I
answer interview questions, select excerpts, and write blog posts for Swagger
and other blogs to get the word out. I post on Facebook and I “tweet.”

Kathy and her husband Jim with Kathy's debut novel.

The
contract I signed for my second novel gives me a deadline of March 31 to have
my revisions finished. This one needed a ton of work, and I feel that deadline
breathing down my neck every minute.

I am also planning
the next family reunion, while keeping house has become one of those intentions
that rarely comes to fruition. But my dream has come true! I am a published
novelist.

As
soon as I finish these revisions and wait for notes from my editor and copy
editor, I will begin work on another novel. I have already scheduled a research
trip to delve into background for the novel after that.

If
I were younger, maybe I’d slow down. But when one is a Senior Citizen, one is
more conscious of the “ultimate deadline” that grows closer for all of us each
day. I still have a lot I want to do. And I am busier than ever.

But what is beyond belief is that ISIS is able to reach isolated, bored young women and convince them, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, they will be doing a noble and adventurous thing by giving up everything they know to become a part of the glorious Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria. Current estimates are at least 550 girls/women have been enticed through this rhetoric.

Last week three affluent and well-educated teenage girls from Britain disappeared into Turkey and are believed to have been smuggled into Syria to connect with ISIS.

Three British teenagers who disappeared last week on their way to join ISIS.

In October 2014, three teenage girls from Denver were apprehended on their way to ISIS.

Hundreds of women from western countries have made it to ISIS. They have married ISIS fighters and some even fight alongside their husbands.

But the reality is far different from the promises, as two Austrian teenagers, who are married to ISIS fighters and reportedly pregnant and desperate to come home have discovered.

According to a recent United Nations report, here is the reality: ISIS confines women to their homes. Detailed rules determine what women wear, who they socialize with and where they work. Girls older than ten must be fully covered. Girls as young as 13 are forced to marry ISIS soldiers. Girls who aren't recruited are routinely captured and forced into sex slavery. Females are not allowed to consort with men outside of their immediate family. Women who break the rules are lashed, or for more serious infringements, stoned to death.

It's a deadly mistake to trust everything you read. We've got insecure readers looking for fulfillment. And very secure writers reaching out to tell them exactly what they yearn to hear.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A
few weeks ago, I went to the ALA (American
Library Association) Conference in Chicago.
I had never been to the conference before, and was going there to introduce my
about-to-be-released novel LIKE A RIVER.

My
flight into O’Hare was uneventful, just the way I like a flight to be. It had
been many years since I’d been to that airport, and it took me a while to get
my bearings, but soon I was in a taxi heading to my hotel.

I
wasn’t scheduled for anything until a 7 PM dinner with folks from Boyds Mills
Press, and it wasn’t even noon yet. It gave me several hours to have a reunion
with dear friends (and former Swaggers), Juliet Bond and Gina Gort. I hadn’t
seen them in over 3 years and getting reacquainted was wonderful!

Kathy (far right) reconnecting with former Swaggers in Chicago.

Around
seven, several of the BMP folks and I walked to the Exchequer restaurant, an
old-fashioned gangland-themed place that served deep-dish pizza and ribs. The
dinner was low-key and delightful, and everyone present made sure all my needs
were met.

Snow
was forecast, though not a single flake had fallen. But I was informed that my
5:25 PM flight for Sunday afternoon had been cancelled and I had been re-booked
for a Monday morning one.

By
the time we left the restaurant, snow was beginning to fall, and I chose to
skip the walk back to the hotel in favor of sharing a cab with a few others.

Sunday
morning found me glad for the cancelled flight. Snow was still falling, or more
accurately, blowing sideways on powerful winds. The news called it “a blizzard.”

I
shared a taxi to the convention center, marveling with a bit of trepidation at
the way the driver maneuvered the cab through traffic on the snow-covered
streets.

But the conference was extraordinary! So
many booths! So many books! Just my kind of happy place. I signed Advance
Reader copies (ARCs) of LIKE A RIVER, while people apologized to me for the
small attendance. Since this was my first time, I had nothing to compare it to.

Boyds Mills Press hosted a luncheon to
introduce its Spring, 2015 catalog. My best guess estimated the attendance at
about 60, and I shared a table with some librarians from Texas. Senior Editor Liz Van Doren regaled
them with the catalog’s picture books, and Gail Jarrow followed with a talk
about her non-fiction book on Typhoid Mary (FATAL FEVER). I closed with a short
talk on LIKE A RIVER, from which I also read a few pages.

Original plans would have seen me gathering
my things together and heading to the airport, but the cancelled flight kept me
at my hotel. And my flight the next morning ended up being cancelled also.

My overnight stay in Chicago ended up being a three-nighter. But
the BMP folks took great care of me. And on Monday, I got a chance to visit
with friend Jennifer Sommer, who had driven in from Dayton on Sunday. Driven through the blizzard
that cancelled flight after flight at O’Hare! What a woman!

On Monday evening, I had a chance to
discuss revisions for my next novel with editor Carolyn Yoder, who was also
grounded an extra day by the blizzard. An unplanned productive use of time.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Since October 2014, I've been working a job that requires lots of car time. Look what I've read since then:

The Road to Grace by Richard Paul EvansBad Monkey by Carl HiaasanThe Call of the Wild by Jack LondonHector and the Search for Happiness by Francois LelordThe Witness by Nora RobertsGone Girl by Gillian FlynnAnansi Boys by Neil GaimanV is for Vengeance by Sue GraftonThe Maze Runner by James Dashner_________________________________Zoo Station, A Memoir by Christianne F.Wild from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl StrayedA Reliable Wife by Robert GoolrickInto the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth HaynesSmack by Melvin Burgess
The first nine titles were listened to in my car.
The latter five titles were read while I was curled up on my bed or couch.
Conclusion: I get almost twice as much reading done while traveling.

The first nine titles were snatched on impulse by either myself or Hubby during library visits.
The latter five titles were books I'd placed on hold at my library or previously purchased.
Conclusion: I'm more spontaneous and less genre-bound in my car reading.

Not only does my travel time fly by, but I'm discovering new authors (Evans, Lelord, Grafton, Roberts), prepping to see the movie versions (of Gone Girl and Maze Runner), rediscovering a beloved classic (Call of the Wild) and continuing my infatuation with known authors (Hiaasan and Gaiman).

Do you "read" while you drive? Or listen to books on tape at other times? What's your ratio of "reading" to "listening"?

Thanks for helping us hit the triple digits. Swagger with us!

About Us

Three years ago we signed up to attend a Highlights Foundation workshop: “Writing the YA Novel.” Author Rich Wallace was the workshop moderator.
We met at the old Boyds Mills’ farmhouse: writing, talking, sharing, reading, crying, supporting, dining on Marcia’s gourmet meals. And yes, there was drinking involved. Somehow this diverse group jelled. And two years later, on October 2nd, 2011, eight of us returned for a reunion at the new “Barn” and decided to launch Swagger. A year later, six of us remain:
The former Australian footy player working on a memoir -
The Tuscan picture book author working on a memoir -
The mother, wife, and grandmother, from Cincinnati, working on a compilation of MG holiday stories -
The Denver author working on her follow-up novel -
The former prosecutor from Cleveland determined to publish her MG fantasy -
The established MG & YA author from New Hampshire -
We are Swagger – Writers with Attitude!

The Swagger Family

Celebrating our second reunion at the Egan homestead.

Where I'm From

During the first Swagger reunion, we were inspired by George Ella Lyon to write our own “Where I'm From” poems that appear on our individual pages. George Ella is a writer and teacher. Her website: http://www.georgeellalyon.com/about.html talks in greater detail about this telling poem, encouraging other writers to embrace its versatile format.